Question

Ken has a pole that is 26 inches long. He wishes to cut it into two pieces so that one piece will be 8 inches longer than the other. How long must the shorter piece be?

Answer 1

Answer:

9 inches

Step-by-step explanation:

Do the question algebraically, represented by this equation:

let x be the shorter piece

x + (x + 8) = 26                      (longer piece is 8 units longer)

Remove brackets

x + x + 8 = 26                 Combine like terms              

2x + 8 = 26                   Start isolating "x"

2x + 8 - 8 = 26 - 8           Subtract 8 from both sides

2x = 18

2x/2 = 18/2           Divide both sides by 2

x = 9                    shorter piece

The shorter piece would be 9 inches.

If you needed the longer piece too:

longer piece = x + 8

x + 8

= 9 + 8

= 17

The longer piece would be 17 inches.

Check your answer:

Longer + Shorter = 26           Substitute the lengths

17 + 9 = 26                    Add

26 = 26                same number

LS = RS                left side equals right side

The answer is correct.